Home
by lifeluver
Summary: There he was, my angel, blonde hair disheveled and an old, beaten up duffel bag slung over his shoulder, but his blue eyes sparkling with excitement.


A/N- So I was supposed to be doing an English assignment when I stumbled into this old story. I had never posted it, so I decided what the heck, might as well do it now. It might be crap, but I hope you enjoy! 

DISCLAIMER- I own nothing.

His bright blue eyes were clouded over. Smiles never reached his eyes. Pain and grief were etched into his features. He spent so much time trying to hide it, but I could always read him.

I had sat with him at the funeral, comforting him as best I could, but I couldn't fill the gaping hole in his heart. I was with him when his mother left, off to heal her broken heart without thinking about her son's. I helped him up when he stumbled and fell, kept him just above the ground, still hanging on.

I held him when he broke down, and could only watch when he began to close himself off. He didn't want to hurt anymore. He saw everyone as a threat to him, just waiting to leave him. But as he became more and more distant with others, we grew closer. I wouldn't let him drift away.

He barely spoke in school. He stared at his desk for hours, but never fell behind. He never volunteered answers but he knew every one. He quit the basketball team shortly after his mom left for New Zealand. He still played, alone or with me at The River Court.

Somehow, through all of it, he still managed to protect me. With a simple stroke of my hair or embracing me around my waist he could make it all go away, and it was just us against the world. No one else mattered when we were together.

He could always tell when I needed him, and would be there no questions asked. He was my Lucas, my Broody, the one I could count on. We came in a set; there couldn't be one without the other.

But I was scared it was ending. He was distracted during school, constantly hearing what the other kids were whispering. He was their default piece of gossip, whenever they had nothing else to talk about there was him. "Did his mom really abandon him?" "I guess no one wants him." He had managed to ignore it up until then, but it was getting to him.

Everything in the town would remind him of what he once had. I saw his eyes wandering over to the families eating in the park, and saw how they filled with pain. He had had everything and lost it in such a short time.

I wondered how much longer he could last. At first I wished we could go back to the way things were before the shooting but then I realized how much closer we had become. And I didn't know what was worse, never getting his heart or getting it and having it ripped away.

Then one night, there was a light tapping at my new apartment door. It was almost three in the morning and I had been asleep before, but the sight before me snapped me back my senses.

There he was, my angel, blonde hair disheveled and an old, beaten up duffel bag slung over his shoulder, but his blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Come with me," he said.

"Luke," I whispered, "Please, don't do this."

"Come on Brooke! We can go anywhere you want. Anywhere. Let's just go! Hit the road." He was begging; he looked so sweet and innocent in the moonlight.

"Luke, Tree Hill is my home. It's your home to! Please, just stay, things will get better. Don't leave." My voice was barely audible by the end, but I knew he heard me.

"Brooke," he said softly, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear as my eyes filled with tears. "I have to go. I love you." He leaned in and gave me one last kiss. My eyes were closed, savoring the feeling of his lips on mine. By the time I opened them he was gone.

I raced to the window and watched him throw his bag in the trunk of Keith's old car. He turned and looked back at Tree Hill one last time and then climbed in and drove off without looking back once. I ran down the stairs and watched as the car disappeared from sight before I fell down on my knees and sobbed.

When I woke up the next morning I couldn't remember how I had got back to my room, but I was on the ground, my face was a mess and in was already 10 in the morning. I knew I should go to school, but I couldn't do it. I just lay there and cried until there was another light knock on my door.

For a moment I thought Lucas might've come back for me but then Nathan, Peyton, and Haley walked in. Within seconds Peyton's arms were wrapped around me letting me cry into her shoulder. I don't know how long we sat like that, but it didn't help much, because hers weren't the arms I wanted to be holding me.

Somehow I managed to choke out that he was gone, and then there were more tears and a flurry of movement. Nathan called everyone, but no one had heard from him. I didn't tell them about our conversation and they didn't ask. Finally I convinced them that I was fine, and I just wanted to go to sleep. They left, and when I closed the door behind them I saw a slip of paper with a phone number on it. I shoved it in my drawer without looking at it, because I knew exactly what it was.

A week had passed. I had gone back to school and tried my best to ignore the ache in my heart when I saw his empty seat. People were talking again, more than ever. I tried my best to ignore them.

I decided to walk home that afternoon. I was walking slowly, thinking about Lucas, when I passed a welcome mat. It said, "Home is Where the Heart Is". I must've heard that expression a thousand times but this time it struck something deeper in me.

I needed Luke. I needed him and I wasn't ready to lose him. Not yet.

I ran home and dropped my stuff at the door. I went straight to my dresser and searched for that slip of paper. It occurred to me that he probably left it because he knew I would want it eventually. God I loved him. Finally I found it and wiped my eyes that were brimming with tears to read it.

Two rings later I heard his voice. I smiled a truly, happy smile.

I emptied my backpack and ran to my closet. I looked through the expensive labels, but couldn't find anything I wanted. I didn't need them anymore. As long as I had him again. I found a few pairs of old jeans that fit comfortably and a couple tank tops and threw them in the bag. I also found a picture of us hugging after a game, and put it carefully with the clothes. I grabbed a toothbrush and a hairbrush and I was done. Only one thing left to do.

I didn't know what to write. I used up at least 15 pages worth of crossed out letters. Nothing seemed to work. Finally I went simple. After I finished the note I signed my name and looked back at my apartment. Almost everything was still there. I smiled and closed the door behind me. I knew this was right, and I was excited.

Good-bye Tree Hill, Hello Home, I thought.

"Brooke?" Haley called. She and Nathan and Peyton hadn't seen her all day. Haley checked the kitchen. "Guys, come here! Now!" She yelled. All three huddled over a piece of paper on the kitchen table. It read:

I love him.

--Brooke Davis

A/N- It's short I know, but please tell me what you think. Even if you think its crap. Have a great day!


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